Life Takes It's Turns
by markaleen
Summary: Harry is thrown off the bench. When Christine and Harry are saying goodbye they admit their feelings for each other. Christine tries to get Harry's job back. What will happen? Her Honer AU.
1. Wake Up And Smell The Toast Burning

NOTE- I do NOT own any of the characters or lines from Night Court. (If I did have the authority I would have wrote a different finale*) All rights go to WB, NBC, Starry Night Productions, and anybody else associated with it.

I will be honest, so far I really haven't been very creative. Most of the lines are from the episode Her Honer (part 2), although I did change a few things. The next chapter is looking the same way but hopefully by the end it will be different ;) Enjoy! ~markaleen

* * *

"You're a real special lady…"

"You're a real special man…"

They slowly leaned into a kiss. Their first kiss. One that they had been waiting for, for quite some time now. For a year and a half to be exact.

Well close enough to exact anyway. Not really the point.

Nevermind all that. Let's back up a bit.

About a week and a half ago Harry had received notice that he was turned down for reappointment. He was fired. Christine filed an appeal but it was turned down.

It was his last day as a judge. Everyone had pitched in to buy him a customized watch. After they gave it to him, they all took turns saying 'goodbye'. First Bull, then Roz, then Dan, the last, but certainly not least, Christine.

After Dan left Harry started what was probably the hardest goodbye of all.

"So…"

"So."

They both smiled.

Christine continued, "Do you know what you're going to do now?"

"Nah, that's really the best part of all this. Now I've got time to do the things I've always wanted to do. Learn hang gliding, take pottery classes, try to get you on the sofa."

Christine laughed. So did Harry but then the expression on his face turned serious.

"I'm not kidding."

Christine wasn't sure if she had heard him correctly.

He continued, "You know, for some time now, I've had some rather non-judicial thoughts about you…" he walked closer to her.

Christine was a bit dazed. "I can't believe you're saying this to me."

He backed away worried that he had just ruined a great friendship.

_And you wondered why you always kept your mouth shut._

"Well, if it's one sided-"

The next thing she said shocked him. He didn't mind though.

"No, no! I feel the same way about you!"

"You do?"

"I do!"

"Well, it's funny that we never-"

"Yeah, well how could you have actually have-"

"Because a judge and a lawyer-"

"Yeah, that would be a conflict of-"

"Interest."

"Clearly."

They both took a second to let this all sink in a bit.

Harry spoke again.

"But now… there's nothin' stopping us."

They were close again, Christine turned to look at Harry.

"But that would be admitting defeat."

They were now nose to nose.

"I got no problem with that."

Christine backed away, "Maybe we could get a restraining order…"

He pulled her back to him gently, "Hey, hey, Miss Sullivan. I feel like I've been restraining myself for too long as is."

She gave him a look. Then they looked into each other's eyes.

Now we are back at the beginning.

"You're a real special lady…"

"You're a real special man…"

They finally kissed. It lasted for awhile, but then Christine pulled away.

"You're too special to be off the bench. We have to find a way to get your job back!"

Harry was now annoyed, "Now?" He put his hand on his face out of frustration.

"Yes!"

"Oh come on! We just need to accept the facts! I was fired. We appealed it and it was declined. There is nothing we can do!

"But there was to be!" she was nearly in tears.

"Would you wake up and smell the toast burning? It's over! I lost. It's not going to change and that's final!" he started walking toward the door, "Hey, when you get back to reality give me a call!"

He stormed out of the room. Christine stood by the desk in what used to be Harry's office and watched him leave.

_No, it can't end like this.._

_It can't end at all._

_And it would if I have anything to say about it._

* * *

**Sorry about that finale comment in the disclaimer but I found out what happened in it and I was really, _really, _mad. But my anger will be turned into writting so that means I will be writting a lot, and faster. Thanks! (for listening to me whine) ~markaleen


	2. Files and Letters

A few days went by and Christine was officially appointed a judge.

Everybody had just left the mayor's office and were now standing outside of it. Everybody except Harry.

"Congratulations Your Honor!"

"Oh, thank you Mac! Thank you all for coming it was really nice of you."

"Hey it was a nice ceremony."

Dan chimed in, "Yeah, the high part for me was when Bull tried to lead everybody in 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat'"

Bull smiled, "All the robes reminded me of glee club!"

"I was kind of hoping Harry would change his mind and show up."

"Well, he'll be at your party but I don't think he's in the mood to be around city officials."

"Yeah… you know I wish I'd had one minute alone with the mayor to talk about Harry."

Dan decided to start sucking up to her considering he was now going to be working for her, "Oh now come, come on now. Don't be so hard on yourself." He started massaging her Christine's shoulders. "There, there, there. Let Danny massage all the tension away…"

He couldn't see it but Christine was making a very annoyed face. She was going to enjoy the sucking up.

Not really.

"Get out Dan."

"At the speed of light ma-lady." He backed away with his head down, it could be considered bowing.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Hey come on now we got a party to go to!" excitement was in Roz's voice.

"Yeah!

"Hey you guys go on, I think I want to… have my picture taken…" She was definitely lying.

"Okeedoke."

"See you there."

Mac, Roz, and Bull left.

_Hey, maybe I'm a better liar than I thought._

Christine walked over to the mayor's assistant.

"Excuse me, I couldn't see the mayor for just one minute could I?" she had a lot of hope in her voice.

"Oh why of course!" He had a big smile and sounded very cheery which made her smile a hopeful smile.

Never mind. He quickly lost his smile. "Call back in October." he now sounded like he had an attitude. He rolled his eyes and walked away.

"It's a matter of life and death!" lying again.

Well.. if you think about it a certain way that could be true.

He continued walking but looked back at her, "Okay. September."

Christine noticed that the guards were busy looking at some papers so she slowly crept over to the door of the mayor's office. She opened the door and peaked her head in.

"Excuse me?"

The mayor looked up from his paperwork, "Yes? Can I help you?"

She walked all the way in, "Yes, actually. I would like to talk to you about Judge Harold T. Stone. Well, he's not really a judge anymore. He was turned down for reappointment."

"Yes…" he said waiting for her to continue. "And?"

"And I see absolutely no reason for it! He was a great judge. He made good decisions, he was kind to the defendants, he has a great sense of humor. Please, I beg you, look over his records and you'll see that there's been a terrible mistake." she tried to sound serious, authoritative, with a bit of anger. She couldn't tell if it was working.

He sat quietly, staring at her with a half smile.

"Sir, I know that you're really busy but it would mean a lot to so many people… it would mean a lot to me."

His half smile turned into a smile and Christine knew that she has convinced him.

"Alright... let's see what we can do."

"Thank you very much, I promise you won't regret it."

The mayor picked up the phone, "Yeah, Jim? Can you get me the records for former judge Harold T. Stone?" there was a brief pause, "Thank you."

Christine smiled.

"Do you want to take a seat?"

"Sure." She sat down on the sofa that was there. It sort of reminded her of the one in Harry's office.

She sighed quietly.

_I really wish we could have left things off on a higher note... Although it's only been a few days, I really miss him. What will I do if he doesn't get his job back?_

_No, think positively, the mayor will look over his records and see what a great judge he was._

_Not only a great judge, but a great man..._

She sat quietly while she was waiting for the files to come. The mayor had started working on the paperwork he had when she came in. She felt bad for bothering him so she didn't want to disturb him anymore. She noticed a pad of paper and a pen.

"Excuse me, do you think I could use these?" She picked the paper and pen up.

"No, not at all."

"Thanks."

She sat back down again. She started to write a letter to Harry. Even if she didn't send it to him she could at least get her feelings out on paper.

She began.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm sorry that things ended the way they did. I'm just so upset that you lost your job. You really were... are a great judge. You were fair, kind, funny, so many things! It's hard watching that all get destroyed. _

_Right now I am sitting in the mayor's office. I convinced him to review your records. We are waiting for them to get here. I am very convinced that you will get your job back. I really am._

_Aside from work now..._

_I can't stop thinking about. I used to think about you a lot but it was hard not to, seeing you almost everyday. But now that you're gone, I find myself thinking about you even more. I keep thinking about that kiss we-_

There was a knock on the door.

"Your honer? I've got the records on Harold T. Stone."

"Ah, yes. Thank you."

The man who brought the files was the same man who had said that the mayor was too busy to deal with whatever Christine had on her mind. She tried to let him notice her. He brought the files over to the desk. When he turned around he saw Christine sitting on the couch. He didn't say anything but he gave her a nasty look. She smiled a guilty smile.

"So. Shall we begin?"

She nodded and walked over to his desk.

_Here it goes._


	3. The Search Begins

Roz, Mac, Dan, and Bull sat at a table in the cafeteria waiting for Christine to show up. They had been waiting for hours.

No one said anything.

Except for Bob and June Wheeler who happened to be there as well.

June broke the silence.

"Bob?"

"Yes, sweet potata'?"

"We never have parties this nice."

"Well what about that wang dang we through when Aunt Tilly had her bloat suction?"

June nodded in remembrance.

Christine finally arrived.

"Hi guys."

"Where have you been?" Roz had annoyance in her voice.

"For the last three hours we've been sitting here listening to 'hillbilly wrap up'." He said that last part in one of Dan's many odd voices.

_Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don't really care about that right now._

"Where's Harry." Her voice was eager yet very serious.

"I'm afraid to guess."

Now hers did as well, "What do you mean?"

"Well, he was here for awhile but he was acting kind of crazy… He said he was finally ready to drop the big one."

"Drop the big what?"

Bull answered for Mac, "Joke." He paused. "The most outrageous crazy stunt anybody's ever pulled."

"What! What's he gunna do?"

"He wouldn't tell us. He just said that it would get the attention of the entire city."

Dan continued, "He called it" he used a French accent for the title, "'The Prank de Résistance'."

"Well that will get him thrown off the bench!"

"Sure, if he were a judge."

"He is! I got him his job back!"

"You what?"

"Yes! I got the mayor to review his records and he said that the mayor's committee made a terrible mistake!"

"Oh my gosh! Harry's out there right now planning to freak out Manhattan. Do you know what this means?"

There was silence until Bob spoke shocking everyone because they were so caught up in talking about Harry that they had completely forgot they were there.

"No tell us!"

They all looked at him.

Despite the seriousness of the situation Dan felt to say what was on his mind.

"Even Bull got that!"

Bull turned at glared at Dan. Dan slouched down.

"Did he say where he was going?" she tried to ignore the previous comments.

"Nope."

"Oh boy." _Why does he have to be such an idiot sometimes? _"We need to find him!"

"Where would we begin? Remember that time he disappeared about a year ago? We looked everywhere, and he was right across the street! He could again, be anywhere."

"He has a point."

Christine sighed, "I know he does…"

Dan rolled his eyes, "Here's an idea, check his apartment."

"I guess he could be there."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't call."

"How come?"

"He might now pick up."

"Yes, but he can just as easily not answer the door."

"At least we can yell so he can hear us or pick the lock or something."

Bull spoke with a lot of excitement in his voice, "Or we could break the door down!" he thought it was a good idea.

Mac looked at Bull, "Uh... that may be a bit extreme..."

Christine perked up with an idea.

"I'm going to go check his apartment. You guys search around a bit."

No one really knew what she was up to but they figured to save time by not asking. Instead they said 'okay' and nodded their heads in agreement.

"See you later."

She quickly turned about and left. The others stood up getting ready to leave and start their search. Bob and June stood up as well.

"What do ya'll want us to do?"

Dan answered, "You do can stay here and see if he comes back." There was really no reason to believe that he would come back.

"Will do."

So, the search began.


	4. Found And Lost Again

Christine walked down the long hallway of Harry's apartment building. She finally got to his door.

She softly knocked, "Harry? Harry are you in there." She didn't talk very loudly either.

She knocked a bit louder, "Harry!"

"Coming!"

She sighed in relief.

"Who is it?"

_Who is it? Who says 'coming' THEN 'who is it'?_

"It's Christine."

"Oh. Sorry, I'm busy."

"Harry! Open up!"

"Sorry, can't!"

She groaned out of anger/annoyance. "Harry, I have something important to tell you so open up this instant!"

He ignored her.

"Fine! Ignore me if you want but I'll find a way in!"

She was semi-prepared for things to be difficult.

_Hmm… let's try plan A. _

She pull out a bobby pin and started picking the lock.

"Ha! Got it!" The doorknob turned but Harry had a lock that can only be opened from the inside.

"Damn it!"

"Harry, I can hear you in the next room. Open, up, now!"

He still ignored her.

She figured that he could still hear her so she decided to tell him that he got his job back.

_That should get him to open up._

"Harry you got your job back!"

Still nothing.

"I'm not kidding! You're a judge again!"

Nothing.

_Ugh, he must have his stupid headphones on… Great. Time for plan B._

She climbed up the fire escape until she reached one of his windows.

_I swear, if the windows are locked I am going to jump from here._

She finally got to the window in his bed room. She was so happy when it opened.

She walked through the apartment until she found Harry sitting in a dark room.

"Harry?"

She was right, he did have his headphones on.

She walked up to him and pulled the head phones off. He jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"Christine! How did you get in here?"

"I told you I would."

"I didn't hear that."

"Never mind that. I have to tell you something important!"

"I'd love to hear it but I really must be going." He grabbed a gigantic bag and started dragging it out of the room."

"Harry, just listen to me!"

"Sorry, but I have something extremely… well extreme planned."

"What?"

"Don't worry, you'll hear about it in the papers soon enough."

_No… he can't mean…_

"Will it be something I want to hear?"

"Maybe yes… and maybe no…"

_Huh?_

Harry opened up the front door, dragged the bag into the hallway, and then he turned to Christine. He walked up to her, and grabbed her in his arms.

"Just in case."

He quickly kissed her with all the force he could. He pulled away, looked at her, grabbed his bag and headed for the elevator. Christine was so dazed by the kiss. It had completely wiped out her mind. By the time she snapped back to reality it was too late, the elevator doors were shutting.

"Wait!" she ran to the elevator even though she knew it was too late.

_Where could he be going? Just in case? …Where could he be going!_

She tried to catch him but he was nowhere to be found.

She thought that she might as well go home. Besides, she had a big day tomorrow. It was her first day being a judge.

_I'm nauseous just thinking about tomorrow!_

When she got home she called everybody to tell them that she found Harry but he left again and that she had no idea where. It was getting very late and they all knew that there was not much more they could do.

All they could do now is pray. Pray that he wouldn't do something drastic or foolish.

_Please let him come back safely_...


	5. The Butterflies Are Here

"How do I look?" Christine was looking in the mirror hanging on what now was her office door, adjusting her robe.

Mac was standing next to her trying to be as supportive as he could, "You look just like a judge!"

"Damn!" she walked over to what was now her desk. (She still couldn't believe it)

Mac was a bit confused, "Damn… that's what I meant."

Roz and Bull walked into the room.

"A little nervous about your first day on the bench?"

Christine was violently twitching, "Nervous? What makes you say I'm nervous?"

"Because you're acting like Bull did the time he dropped his ant farm down his pants."

Bull remembered when that happened. "Accept you're not laughing!"

Christine rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well I will tell you what I'm nervous about. I'm nervous about Harry! We have got to find him!"

Bull walked up to Christine, "Christine, don't you remember? You did find him! Then you lost him again."

She looked up from her files and glared at Bull, "We have to find him _again_."

Mac jumped into the conversation, "Well, I don't know what else we can do. He didn't tell us where he was going and there's no way we can track him down."

Christine was remembering the huge bag he had with him. Maybe they could track him down that way. But what if he didn't have it anymore? What if it was too late?

"Well, there has to be something we haven't tried!"

Dan noticed how stressed Christine looked so he found this as a perfect opportunity to suck up. "Hey, hey, come on! Relax. The king is dead… long live the queen."

_Thank you Dan. What if Harry is dead? How could you say something like that? Jerk!_

"Dan this is not a good time to suck up."

He looked at his watch, "Okay, why don't you pencil me in the 8:30 coffee break?"

"Dan!"

"I'm not sucking up! I'm merely trying to tell you that you have more important things in your life to worry about then umm…" he snapped his fingers, Mac, Roz, and Bull all responded, "Harry."

"Right."

Christine looked at Dan appalled. "More important! The poor guy just saw his career go up in flames. He doesn't know that he's gotten his job back yet, and instead of being here working he's somewhere out there getting ready for some stupid crazy stunt that's going to ruin the rest of his life!"

_If he could have just let me talk long enough we wouldn't be having this conversation!_

Dan continued to look at Christine.

"What?"

"When your mad your nostrils flair…"

_I could really slap him right now. No, not slap. Strangle._

She glared at him, knowing that this day was going to be a long one.

_Harry, please come back…_


	6. The Letter

**NOTE- Sorry that it has taken me so long to update! Enjoy! ~markaleen**

* * *

Christine's first day on the bench wasn't at all what she had expected. She felt so bad for everyone who was brought up before her. She couldn't take sides anymore. After awhile she just couldn't take it. She called recess and she couldn't stop throwing up. Once she felt her stomach was settled she went back to her chambers where Mac and Dan were. Also with them was a man she hadn't seen before. He appeared to think that Dan was Judge Stone. Apparently Dan was pretending to be Harry because the city didn't know that Harry was really off somewhere planning some crazy stunt. She played along. Anything to help Harry...

The plan was going alright until the man said that they would be swearing in Dan (Judge Stone) later that night. They figured that they would come up with something, they had already succeeded with writing Harry's signature. The cover was almost blown when Bull had come in announcing that there were letters from Harry. Roz corrected him though. Christine was so happy to see the letters until Bull read the note saying that they were not to be opened till the event of his death. That had everyone scared, especially Christine.

They did their best to continue on with their day. When Christine had a minute to herself, she sat down and opened the letter. She had to know what it said. _Maybe he says what he's doing. _She carefully opened the envelope and read…

**"Dear Christine,**

**I'm sorry that you're reading this. First of all, let me explain what I did… I was attempting to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Statue of Liberty. When I got to the statue I was going to put comedy glasses on her. But, the jump failed… Second of all, let me say how sorry I am that more couldn't have happened between us. I knew you were special from the minute I met you. Over the past couple years I got to know you, and even love you. I was so happy to hear that you felt the same way, and I can't help but knowing that I blew it. I had this crazy idea and I needed to attempt it. I hope that you will never forget me…**

**Love,**

**Harry Stone.**

**P.S. I know you well enough to know that you read this the first chance you got whether I was dead or alive… In the chance that I make it through this thing alive… what would say to dinner next week? Also, please don't try to stop me. I need to do this for myself.**

**I love you…"**

Tears were running down Christine's face as she re-read the letter several times. After the fifth or sixth time reading it, she knew that she had to ignore the part about not stopping him. She loved him too and he needed to know that now more than ever. She adjourned the court and headed strait to the Brooklyn Bridge.

She only hoped that she wasn't too late…


	7. Up On A Bridge

Christine climbed to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge.

_He better be up here! This is the second time that I've had to climb in two days!_

When she was finally at the top she called for Harry. "Harry! Harry! Are you up here? Please, please answer!"

She was just in time, he was just about to 'set sail' for Lady Liberty.

"Christine? Is that you?"

"Yes!" she found him standing around the corner.

"Christine, what the hell are you doing up here? It's not safe!"

"That is exactly why I am here! First, this is insane! You're putting your whole life and whole career in danger!"

Harry started interrupt, "What are-"

"No, let me finish." She continued, "Second, you have your job back! I talked to the mayor and I got him to review your records! Right now Dan is pretending to be you so you don't lose your job again! Third, what the hell is that your wearing? And forth…" she slowly walked close to him and gently pushed him up against the wall. "I love you too." She kissed him as passionately as she could. She was feeling so many things, happy because Harry was safe, angry because of what he was about to do, and terribly afraid because she was very high up on top of a bridge.

After about a minute, Harry pulled away from Christine, grabbed his giant bag and tossed it over the side and into the ocean. He walked back over to Christine and hugged her, "I knew you would read it."

She smiled, "You wanted me to come."

"I sure did."

"What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't.

They were silent for a few seconds then Harry looked at Christine, "How can I ever thank you?"

"You can come back to work before Dan gets caught."

"Done." He started heading toward the ladder but Christine slightly pulled his arm.

"Wait…"

"What?"

She smiled and pulled him close to her. "One for the road…" she lightly kissed him. They both smiled then they hurried back to the court.

They hoped that it wouldn't be too late. Who knew how long Dan could hold out?


	8. Another Turn

Christine and Harry arrived just in time. Dan was about to be caught impersonating Harry. When Harry walked into the office, Dan knelt down, threw his arms in the air, and shouted, "My Hero!" Harry made a long speech explaining what happened and thanked everyone. The judge who was there to swear him in didn't care what happened, he knew how crazy this bunch of people were and knew that it was better not to know, all he needed to know was that he was tired and wanted to go home, untraditionally, swore Harry in. "You planning to shoot anybody?" "No…" "Good you're a judge again." He quickly left after that.

The next day he was back on the bench. Only one thing was different, Christine wasn't defending. It was kind of odd not seeing her at her table. Oh well, he knew that he would get used to it. Her being a judge meant that they could be together (at last). Court was adjourned and Harry was waiting for Christine in his chambers. After about ten minutes she walked into the room.

"Hi."

"Hi Christine, ready for dinner?"

"Yeah… but can we talk first?"

"Sure, what about?"

"Well… I don't really know how to say this…"

Harry knew the tone in her voice. This wasn't going to be good. What if she's changed her mind about them? He was dreading what was about to be said. "What's wrong?" he asked nervously.

"I'm no longer a judge…"

All he could manage to do was stare at her.

"I quit."

'_I quit'? _he thought, _why? Is there more to this? What on earth is going on? Is she okay? Is she moving? What the hell should I be thinking right now?" _after a few seconds he was able to ask, "Why?"

'The minute I put that robe on I felt uncomfortable, then I felt nervous, and then I threw up." She paused, "I start back in your court tomorrow."

This was one of those rare moments where Harry was speechless.

Absolutely speechless...


	9. Roller Coaster

So many thoughts were going through Harry's mind all at the same time that he had no idea what he was even thinking. Did this mean he would lose Christine? Would they have to go back to just being friends? Yes, they would be they way that they always used to be but this time there would always be a little awkwardness.

"So…"

"So…"

It seems like they were back where they had started.

Harry couldn't put it off any longer, "Where does that leave us?"

Christine sighed, "I was hoping you would know…"

"Oh." He thought for a moment. He would be willing to try a romantic relationship as co-workers, he wouldn't let his feelings get in the way of his work and he believed that she would do the same. He didn't know why he was so afraid to say so. This was Christine that was at stake. He didn't know it but Christine felt the same way. She was thinking the exact same thing. There was a very, very long silence. They couldn't seem to look in each other in the eye. Neither of them knew why, this didn't seem like it would be a big deal, and it wasn't. Was it?

Christine finally spoke up, "Maybe I should go…"

"No, wait."

"Yeah?"

"I'm willing to try."

"Try what?" she was pretty sure that she knew what he was talking about but she really wanted to be sure.

Harry wasn't sure what she meant by that. Did she really no know? This was heartbreaking. He sighed sadly, "Never mind…"

Christine nodded and slowly walked out of the room.

Harry sadly watched her leave. A few seconds later she ran back in. Harry jumped off from the side of the desk and embraced her. They yelled each other's names at the same time. The next thing they knew they were kissing, and then lying on the sofa.

"Oh Christine… I'm willing to try as co-workers. How about you?"

"Of course I am! I was afraid to ask if you were!"

"And I was afraid to ask if you were!"

They both laughed and sat up.

Christine lowered her voice, "Let's go somewhere more romantic."

"I'm all for that."

They smiled, gave each other another kiss, and proudly walked out of the building hand in hand.

They went to a hotel where they had dinner then went back to their room for their first night of romance. They were both so happy to be together at last. Their story is like a roller coaster, it had its high moments, it had its low moments, and it definitely took its turns, which is what happens in life.

As they lay in bed they both think, _life really does take its turns… _at the same time they look at each other with a smile, this was about to be one of the best turns that they could ever imagine.

The End.


End file.
